Sparky1x

Note: This review is of the PC version available on Steam. "A tactical squad based game" is the description, images of XCOM and Jagged Alliance spring into your head... Ok games as good as XCOM are few and far between but we can dream. So after firing up the game what stands out... The Graphics are nothing special but are crisp and clear, important boxes and objectives stand out. This part is great. The interface is the games major let down, its been ported from a mobile platform and it shows. This is a tactical real time game with no pause (well there is but it brings up the game menu and blocks the view) so the controls need to be sharp and clear... they are far, far from it and consist of a drag and drop system and radial menus that block the view. You carefully order 1 member of your team forward only to find your whole squad sprinting out of cover and getting shot to pieces. Or you might find yourself frantically opening and closing the radial menu on a stunned enemy in the hopes that the "incapacitate" option will come up before the flashbang grenade you lobbed wears off. You might also find out in the middle of battle that the 'energy lance' a 'raygun' looking weapon is actually a sword and your squaddie has broken cover yet again in a vain attempt to use it. This game shows a great deal of potential but if its to be saved from turning into another Battlecruiser 3000 somebody needs to take it out of Derek Smart's incapable hands and totally rebuild the interface. Note: As i write this Derek Smart (the games dev) is blocking anybody who writes a bad review on steam from posting on the steam forums and is choking the front page with pinned posts so nobody can see the bad reviews.